UN declares Famine in Gaza

 https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165702

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Transcript from August 28,2025 The Current:

 I was at our primary health care facility a few weeks ago, and I was speaking to a mother who obviously had a child that was malnourished, and she had difficulty breastfeeding that child. And when I approached her to talk with her, she tells me she lives in perpetual shock all of the time because she's afraid she may lose her baby the very next second, right? She cannot sleep at night because she feels if she sleeps away, that baby may not wake up the next day. So she's in that perpetual state of living in shock, and this can be mentally traumatizing for any mother to see her child and not be able to help the child.

SB: If Hamas were to release the hostages and Israel were to stop the war, how would your work change on the ground?

JOEL ONYEKE: Well, when there is no impediment to access, when we're able to effectively bring in all the aids that we're supposed to bring into Gaza to support affected people, then I think we will see more significant improvements to the context on the ground. And that's why Save the Children and other international NGOs have continued to call for a definitive ceasefire in place and all access impediment to humanitarian aid removed for us to be able to effectively and adequately distribute aid to people so that we can see that effect that we, you know, we continue to desire to see on the ground from the services we’re providing. We need as much life saving, you know, goods into Gaza as much as possible, and it has to be immediately.

SB: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today.

JOEL ONYEKE: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

SB: Joel Onyeke is the Gaza head of operations for Save the Children. We reached him in Deir Al Balah, Gaza. The CBC’s senior international correspondent, Margaret Evans, joins us now from Jerusalem. Margaret, we've just heard from Save the Children. The UN's hunger watchdog has assessed half a million people in Gaza are suffering from famine. What's been the reaction inside Israel? What have we heard from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu?

MARGARET EVANS: Well, not surprisingly, Susan, he has dismissed it as a lie. He's basically used the word, I think he called it a modern blood libel. And based on what he called Hamas influence or propaganda adopted by aid agencies, aid agencies, he said Israel does not have a policy of starvation, that Israel has what he called a policy of preventing starvation. Critics, of course, point out that's not consistent with Israel's decision in March. If you remember back in March when they reimposed a complete blockade on Gaza. He also said that the, that the UN's IPC report didn't take Israel's humanitarian efforts into account. And that's presumably a reference to these aid distribution points, which are set up by something called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is a US backed Israeli operation that's been widely criticized as being dangerous for people to get to. We've had a lot of chaotic scenes there, people being shot, the Israelis saying they're firing warning shots. So I think, you know, aid agencies are pushing back on the denial and basically saying, you know, if you listen to what they're saying on the ground and what they're seeing, that this is irrefutable and that the IPC is actually very technical, it's a very technical confirmation that they make when they actually decide that that famine is present.

SB: And this week, five more journalists have been killed in Gaza by an IDF airstrike. What's been the fallout from that?

MARGARET EVANS: Well, widespread condemnation internationally, shock, I think. The Israel Defence Forces, or IDF, basically released an initial report that raised more questions than it's answered so far. It said the target of the strike on a hospital was a Hamas camera that it said was tracking Israeli soldiers. Now, the hospital in question is a place where journalists regularly place themselves on the staircases up to the upper levels to take pictures of what was going on down below. And Hussam al-Masri was the Reuters journalist who was broadcasting a live feed from the staircase when the first missile strike, because there was a second one. It was what they called a double attack, or they call it a double tap, which is when there's an initial strike, and then when others come to aid the victims of the first strike, they too are killed or hurt injured in the attack. That's when the other journalists and aid workers were killed. It's increased the allegations that many groups concerned with the protection of journalists have made, that Israel is deliberately targeting journalists. And it came a couple of weeks after four journalists were killed in a targeted attack on the tent they were working in and the death there of the correspondent, Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif. The Committee to Protect Journalists had actually lodged concern about Israel and the comments they were making about Al-Sharif. They had basically accused him of being a Hamas operative. And the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York said Israel has a documented pattern of accusing journalists as being terrorists without providing credible proof. So it's, you know, obviously, our colleagues in Gaza City particularly concerned, and they've been calling for more protection.

SB: And international journalists such as yourself are not allowed into Gaza. They are banned. And so the importance of these local journalists is critical at this time. CBC works with one videographer. Talk a little bit about how important the local journalists in Gaza are to getting the story out.

MARGARET EVANS: Well, basically, they are the only eyes and ears that we have as journalists having to cover the conflict from the outside of the conflict zone. And it's an enormous burden on them because they are carrying the risk for all of us. The videographer we work with is critical to me in particular in terms of trying to convey the gravity, the risks that people are facing in Gaza during this conflict. We have, you know, it's a struggle to bring the human element to our journalism if we can't see it. So working specifically with the videographer allows us to actually beyond just using aid agency footage, which of course is very important, but it allows us to interact with the people that he's videoing. So we actually get to ask questions to be able to verify information. We did a story last week. We were talking about famine where a videographer went to one of the hospitals treating a number of children for malnutrition, and we were able to tell the story of a nine-year-old girl named Mariam. It's so important to be able to show her emaciated frame, the weakness of her voice in answering the questions that he was very delicately putting to her, basically saying she wanted to get better. She was afraid of dying, not just because of the hunger, but because of the war. And he was able to talk to her mother. So we were able to bring that to you solely because of him. And, you know, I know that the more that journalists, the more, you know, the greater the number of journalists being killed in Gaza, the more determined the Palestinian journalists there still alive are to stay and report, despite having to live through those difficult conditions themselves.

SB: Let's look at, at the whole idea of trying to get a ceasefire and ultimately an end to this situation. Qatar and Egypt have put forward a ceasefire proposal that Hamas has reportedly signed on to. Israel has yet to respond. Where do those talks stand and what are the sticking points?

MARGARET EVANS: Well, it’s a proposal based on a six-week ceasefire that would see half the hostages released. There are only 20 Israeli hostages still believed to be alive, and the bodies of 30 others have yet to be returned. And as I said, it's a staged release, which Israel has accepted in the past. But it's, and that's how the hostages that have been released up to this point, that's how it's worked, through these staged releases and various conditions to be met. But Benjamin Netanyahu is now saying it has to be all at once. I think the main sticking point is that Netanyahu said from the start, there can be no end to the war unless Hamas is completely eradicated, while Hamas is saying there can be no release of all the hostages until there is an agreement to an end to the war. And, you know, that's where they're stuck. And there is a difference right now between the head of the military and Mr. Netanyahu, according to Israeli media reports. The head of the IDF thinks this is not something that he should take the deal on the table, particularly because he's decided to expand the war with the ground invasion to take over Gaza City, which the Israeli military says is already underway. It will take months, but that's where Israel's prime minister believes Hamas is operating now. And of course, it would see, you know, the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians again.

SB: And there's pressure inside Israel from the streets, mass protests by Israelis calling for the hostages to be returned and an end to the war. How has the prime minister responded to them?

MARGARET EVANS: Well, as you said, he hasn't responded to, formally to this current deal on the table. And earlier this week, there were these huge demonstrations, again, planned by the families of the hostages themselves, ragged with worry and distress, they tell us, and you can actually see it in their faces, worried that this is the time is running out. If there's going to be a ground invasion into Gaza City, the fear is that the hostages could be killed in the ensuing conflict there, especially given that it would be on the ground, not just the blanketing of airstrikes that we've seen over the past two years. I'm talking to people on the street. They feel helpless, impotent and angry, and partly because they believe that the only reason that Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to end the war is because he's afraid, this is their belief, they're afraid, he's afraid that if hardline, that hardliners in his cabinet would basically collapse his government. These are hardliners who want to resettle Gaza, take over the occupied West Bank. And the people that I spoke to at the demonstrations this week say that he simply wants to stay in power, and that that's why the war hasn't ended up to now.

SB: And you have been reporting from the occupied West Bank and reporting on the increased violence by Israeli settlers there. What is that situation?

MARGARET EVANS: Well, I think one of the things on this reporting trip that has been most notable compared to a trip I made about a year ago when we were looking at the expansion of settlement outposts, those outposts which are supposedly illegal even under Israeli law, the international community considers all settlements in the occupied territories illegal, but these outposts have been set up, and it's a way that the hardliners in the settlers movement have of expanding, taking their territory and launching increasingly violent attacks against Palestinian herders or farmers or simply, you know, attacking villages where they can find more vulnerable people. And the number of outposts that I've seen on this trip nearly a year later is visibly much, much greater. We visited a village north of Ramallah called al-Mughayyir. And this is a village that, you know, just standing at the foot of the village, I could see three different outposts, plus the settlements beyond them. This is a village where there was an allegation that somebody from, a Palestinian from the village had shot at Israelis somewhere. And the Israeli Defence Forces then came in and destroyed hundreds of olive trees. And the villagers said, you know, they didn't know whether someone had or hadn't shot at Israelis. But they said, we're now suffering from collective punishment imposed by the Israeli Defence Forces. So there's a sense that things are really speeding up, that the hardline settlers who want to take over the occupied territories and annex it see this as their opportunity to do that while everybody is focused on Gaza.

SB: Margaret, thank you for helping us navigate our way through this, this complicated story. Thank you so much for being there.

MARGARET EVANS: Thanks for having me, Susan.

SB: The CBC's senior international correspondent, Margaret Evans, from Jerusalem. The CBC news is next, then, these are anxious financial times for so many in this country, including young people. We're going to talk about how to talk to kids about money. How do you save money? How do you respect money? How do you spend it wisely? In six minutes, the advice financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons wishes she heard as a kid. I'm Susan Bonner, and you are listening to The Current.

[Music: Theme]

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Al Gore speech

 FTR: Al Gore

CH: 

Al Gore isn't known for mincing words, especially about the environment. Inconvenient truths are his brand. But the former U.S. vice-president was particularly unapologetic in a speech at San Francisco's Climate Week on Monday. In his keynote address, Mr. Gore slammed the Trump administration for hindering climate progress, citing the president's resistance to renewables, in particular. But his criticisms addressed the political climate, too -- culminating in a comparison he acknowledged one is typically better off avoiding. Here's part of Al Gore's speech, For The Record.

SOUNDCLIP

AL GORE: 

"We've already seen, by the way, how populist authoritarian leaders have used migrants as scapegoats and have fanned the fires of xenophobia to fuel their own rise to power. And power-seeking is what this is all about. Our constitution, written by our founders, is intended to protect us against a threat identical to Donald Trump, someone who seeks power at all costs to get more power. I understand very well why it is wrong to compare Adolf Hitler's Third Reich to any other movement. It was uniquely evil, full stop. I get it. But there are important lessons from the history of that emergent evil. And here is one that I regard as essential, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, a small group of philosophers who had escaped Hitler's murderous regime returned to Germany and performed a kind of moral autopsy on the Third Reich. The most famous of the so-called Frankfurt School of Philosophers was a man named Jurgen Habermas, best known I would say, but it was Habermase's mentor, Theodore Adorno, who wrote that the first step in that nation's descent into hell was, and I quote, the conversion of all questions of truth into questions of power. He described how the Nazis, and I quote again, attacked the very heart of the distinction between true and false, end quote. The Trump administration is insisting on trying to create their own preferred version of reality"

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Herodotus on the corrosive nature of autocratic power.  cbcradio/ideas April 25,2024

How to become a tyrant in 5 steps

In the 5th century BCE Herodotus travelled his ancient world gathering stories. One of his many prescient observations was how given the right circumstances a political strongman can emerge and seize control. It turns out the playbook on authoritarianism remains pretty much the same after nearly 3,000 years

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What it takes to become a ruthless tyrant

53 mins

April 25, 2025

Looking back about 3,000 years, the playbook on authoritarianism remains pretty much the same as it is today. Back in the 5th century BCE, when Herodotus travelled the ancient world gathering stories, he became an expert in would-be tyrants. His groundbreaking tome, simply called The History, shared vivid descriptions of autocratic and tyrannical rulers. Herodotus was a rule breaker himself. He ignored Greek literary tradition and captured history as accurately as possible from a wide range of sources. One of his many prescient observations was how, given the right circumstances, a political strongman can emerge and seize control — a forewarning for us today. 

This episode originally aired on Sept. 9, 2024.

on cyber espionage "Chasing Shadows"

cbcradio/ideas April 15, 2025   interview with Ron Diebert

https://www.bing.com/search?q=cbc%20radio%2Fideas%20interview%20with%20ron%20deibert&FORM=AWRE&ptag=AMA1ZZZ810186

Your phone could easily be tapped by spyware abusers: cybersecurity expert

We are all vulnerable to digital surveillance, says cybersecurity expert Ron Deibert. Mercenary spyware products are powerful and sophisticated. He tells IDEAS, "the latest versions can be implanted on anyone's device." Deibert is the founder of the Citizen Lab, a digital watchdog group at the University of Toronto. In his book, Chasing Shadows, Deibert reveals the dark underworld of digital espionage, disinformation, and subversion.

the killing fields of Gaza

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-paramedics-first-responders-rafah-israel-1.7503193

Cbcradio/aih. April 8. 

 15 unarmed paramedics shot dead by Israeli soldiers/Antonio guiteres says Gaza has become a killing field !

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-14-day-6/clip/16139846-as-fallout-continues-killing-15-palestinian-medical-workers

April 11, 2025

This week, the fallout continued over the killing of 15 Palestinian medical workers in Gaza and the Israeli military's changing account of what happened. Amy Neilson is an Australian doctor who served on a medical mission in Gaza alongside some of the medical staff who were killed. She remembers her colleagues and talks about the importance of the work they were doing there.

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Senator Bernie Sanders:

I'm forcing votes in the Senate to block the sale of $8.8 billion in heavy bombs to Israel.

We must not continue to be complicit in the destruction of Gaza. History won't forgive us.

Every Senator who supports the rule of law should vote for these resolutions.

EXPOSING CRIME AND CORRUPTION IN THE WORLD

 https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-23-ideas/clip/16139202-how-network-journalists-uncovered-billions-toppled-world-leaders

Cbcradio/ideas April 8. 2025

Exposing  wrongdoing in the world :. Tax avoidance bad guys./  The secret world of wealth sequestration: 32 trillion  sequestered in secret offshore accounts! 

How a network of journalists uncovered billions and toppled world leaders

Between $21 and $32 trillion dollars is hidden away in offshore accounts. These secret stashes have been uncovered by the work of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — a network of around 300 investigative journalists. Their findings have led to multiple arrests and official inquiries in more than 70 countries, and the resignations of the leaders of Pakistan, Iceland, and Malta.

EXPOSING CRIME AND CORRUPTION IN THE WORLD: ICIJ DIRECTOR GERALD RYLE

It's estimated that a significant percentage of the world's wealth is held in secret offshore accounts — between $21 and $32 trillion. How much of the world's wealth is ferreted away is hard to know. However in the past decade billions of these hidden stashes have been uncovered through the thorough work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ retains a network of more than 290 of the top investigative journalists around the work. Some of its major investigations include Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, and Pandora Papers. These revealed the secrets of the rich and powerful and led to multiple arrests and official inquiries in more than 70 countries, and the resignations of the leaders of Pakistan, Iceland, and Malta. 

For the 2025 Dalton Camp Series, ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle is in conversation with IDEAS Host Nahlah Ayed. 

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This is wrong and  politicians need to  do something about it

It is stealing tax dollars .that belong to the public!

....or is corruption in politics so rampant it has become normalized?

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Mark Carney's company, Brookfield Asset Management, has been accused of using offshore tax havens to avoid paying Canadian taxes. Here are some key points ¹ ²:

- *Brookfield's Use of Tax Havens*: Brookfield Asset Management, where Carney served as chair, avoided $5.3 billion in taxes between 2021 and 202 and had some of its core businesses registered in Bermuda, a known tax haven.

- *Bermuda Registration*: Brookfield's businesses were registered at an oceanfront address in Bermuda, which also housed a bike shop, raising questions about the legitimacy of the company's operations there.

- *NDP Criticism*: The NDP has criticized Carney and Brookfield for using tax loopholes, arguing that this practice deprives Canadians of essential services and infrastructure funding.

- *Plan to Close Loopholes*: The NDP has proposed a plan to stop corporate tax dodgers like Brookfield by ending tax agreements with known tax havens, requiring corporations to prove a genuine business reason for offshore accounts, and implementing public country-by-country financial reporting.

As for whether Mark Carney has a secret offshore account, there's no concrete evidence to support this claim. However, the controversy surrounding Brookfield's use of tax havens has raised concerns about Carney's involvement and the ethics of tax avoidance practices.

Overt corruption in America

 

This video clip reveals the real reason for Trump's tariff gambit. (triggering a global economic crisis)

Forget about all the pretence and the fake justifications (like being taken advantage. of by other countries and " reshoring manufacturing")

The real reason is for Trump and his. oligarch buddies to get rich quick at the expense of evryone else through stock market manipulation-- the so-called  " pump and dump" method !!

He is admitting/even gloating that he gained 2 billion dollars in one day using this technique!

How is this not illegal?!!

Is there no law enforcement in America now ?

 Are the rich free to do anything they want?

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Billionaires gloating about how they gamed the system:

Why are mainstream media not calling  out this flagrant abuse of power. 

Why are they silent?

Donald Trump throws the global economy into chaos in order to make himself and his oligarchs even more wealthy. 

Confiscate their ill-gotten gains, prohibit them from investing on the stockmarket, and put all the psickophans ( er...sycophants) in prison. 

They are criminals!

Trump fires thousands of government employees from key government. Departments

 Cbcradio/AIH.    April 1, 2025

 Part 2: U.S. Researchers, 

U.S. Researchers

Guest: Steven Woolf

CH: Today, employees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services waited in line to find out if they still had jobs. The Trump administration has laid off thousands of workers, as it implements an extremely broad reorganization of the department. It's the latest in a series of government actions that are upending the lives of American researchers -- funding cuts, firings, and new conditions on scientific study. And now, hundreds of scientists are speaking out. This week, nearly 2,000 researchers signed an open letter sounding the alarm over what they're calling a, quote, "wholesale assault on U.S. science.” Unquote. Dr. Steven Woolf is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and one of the authors of the letter. We reached him in Fairfax, Virginia.

NK: Dr. Woolf, you and your colleagues have talked about a, quote, climate of fear right now. That you see real danger in this moment, as you put it. What is at stake right now in your view?

STEVEN WOOLF: Well, the issue that we're dealing with here is that the Trump administration's policies have been markedly degrading the functions of our government, different agencies. But the area that concerns us as scientists is that there is a, basically, destruction of a lot of the research capacity, not only within the federal government but at universities and research centres around the country. The United States has invested for about 80 years in building up its research capacity. And that's enabled the U.S. research enterprise to make great discoveries in cutting-edge medical treatments. Within weeks, the Trump administration has basically incapacitated a lot of those functions.

NK: And I think it's fair to say that many, if not most, Americans, regardless of their politics, the kinds of things you're describing, innovation, investment, setting a standard for the world, are the kinds that Americans would pride themselves on. So, what is it like to see that shift?

SW: Yeah, the problem is getting the American public to connect the dots. Many of them view this as some sort of bureaucratic reshuffling, some downsizing of employees in the federal government. And one of the reasons why we put out this statement to the American public is to help to raise awareness about how severely this will impact their lives. We explain that research is important for the economy, for businesses in terms of innovation, uh, weather forecasting, protecting the environment, even national security in terms of the military or, uh, intelligence gathering. But as a physician, what, what I and my colleagues are most concerned about is how this will affect the health of Americans. Part of our goal is to try to help the average American understand that if they have a heart attack, or their child is diagnosed with cancer, they're less likely to be getting cutting-edge treatments that will be available in other countries that are prioritizing research.

NK: And it's early, I know, in terms of response, but have you heard a response or reaction that leads you to believe those dots are being connected? That people are getting this message?

SW: Well, it's a heavily polarized country right now. So, when people like myself raise concerns about the direction the Trump administration is taking, there is a large sector of the population that is not happy with those kinds of comments. But on the other side, there is a large sector of Americans who appreciate the fact that somebody is actually speaking out. There is a climate of fear in a lot of these research institutions and universities where the leadership are in a very difficult place, and are not speaking out, trying to keep their heads down and avoid displeasing the administration because the government is placing a lot financial and legal pressure on universities and other research institutions. So, as a result, there's been a relative silence. Many of our professional organizations have not pushed back and spoken publicly about this. We reached out because we, as scientists, feel that the American public needs to know about what's happening, and also how this will affect their health.

NK: We're also hearing today, we're seeing mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services. What are you hearing from your colleagues about what is happening there?

SW: The layoffs that are occurring today are apocalyptic in our field. These are major agencies that are responsible for the health of Americans. And large amounts of workers who have spent their careers trying to improve the health of Americans are being sent packing. We have an agency, for example, called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality -- or AHRQ -- that is basically responsible for addressing the quality of health care in the United States. That agency has basically been clobbered, uh, and a large portion of the employees of that agency have been dismissed

NK: There are those -- and you hinted at this earlier in our conversation, doctor -- that, who would say, you know, that there's bloated bureaucracy, these things need to be trimmed back, and they think that the amount given to research has been too much over the years. What would you want to say to them?

SW: Well, I think there is a fair argument that there are inefficiencies in many of these agencies. But the way you address inefficiencies is a much more targeted approach. My analogy is if you have a car engine that's running inefficiently, you normally take it to a mechanic for a tune-up. In this case, what's happening is they're taking a sledgehammer and clobbering the engine, which does nothing to improve efficiency, and now the car doesn't work anymore. Uh, that's essentially what happened. There's, there's been very little attempt to actually improve the efficiency of these agencies. Instead, what's been done is simply to dramatically downsize them. Uh, and, and have made them basically, uh, dysfunctional. I think it's important for listeners to understand that there's two pieces to this. One is that these massive cuts are turning off the spigot for research But the second part is the censorship. This is where the government is imposing ideological and political agendas to interfere with what research questions scientists can investigate, what methods they can use for doing their studies, and how they’re, literally the words they can used in reporting the results. So, the very important principle of scientific independence that researchers across the world value is being threatened in this case.

NK: And here in Canada, we've certainly seen, just in the past week, stories about professors and researchers leaving the United States for Canada. Are you expecting that more of your colleagues will leave your country for ours?

SW: I think so. I think it's happening very rapidly. I personally know colleagues that are doing this. It's true for experienced researchers who are feeling the need to leave the country in order to continue to do independent scientific research. But it's also happening for our young people who are interested in a career in the sciences, uh, that are changing their minds about going to graduate school in the united states and looking elsewhere for their education. Uh, not least because the number of openings for graduate studies is decreasing as a result of these massive funding cuts

NK: Dr. Woolf, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

SW: Thank you for your attention to this.

CH: Dr. Steven Woolf is a professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University. We reached him in Fairfax, Virginia.

Bernie Sanders’ response to President Trump’s Congressional address on March 4, 2025.

TRANSCRIPT:

The Big Lie Tactic

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS:…through the concept of the big lie and boy did we hear that tonight. You say something that is grossly false, say it over and over again, and have right-wing social media blast it out endless times until people actually believe it. And then, rather than address the real issues facing the American people, the struggles that the American people are facing, we find ourselves wasting endless amounts of time discussing Trump’s absurdities.

Let me just give you a very few examples. Trump claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that he won by a landslide. Remember that? A lie. Trump claimed that the January 6th insurrection was a day of love. A lie. Trump has claimed that millions of undocumented people voted and do vote in American elections. A lie. Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax originating in China. A lie. Trump has claimed that Ukraine started the horrific war with Russia. A lie.

And tonight, just tonight, Trump claimed that millions of dead people between the ages of a hundred and three hundred and sixty, I guess, were collecting Social Security checks. And that is an outrageous lie intended to lay the groundwork for cuts to Social Security and dismantling the most successful and popular government program in history.

So let’s be clear about that. Well over 99% of Social Security checks are going out to people who earned those checks. Seventy million Americans. Nobody, nobody who was a hundred and fifty years old or two hundred years old or three hundred years old is receiving Social Security checks. And on and on the lies go.

Deflecting From Real Issues

Now the purpose of all of this lying is not just to push his hateful right-wing ideology. It is not just to try to divide us up. It is more than that. It is a masterful effort, and you saw that tonight, to deflect attention away from the most important issues facing the people of our country. Issues that Trump and his billionaire friends do not want to address because it is not in their financial interests to do so.

Trump gave his State of the Union speech tonight. But if you listen closely, that speech had very little to say about the State of the Union. About what is really going on in our country, especially for working families.

Trump spoke for over 90 minutes, although I must confess it seemed a lot longer than that, and he almost completely ignored the issues that are keeping working people up at night as they worry about how their families are going to survive in these very tough times.

A Government of Billionaires

And I will tell you exactly why Trump had very little to say about the real crises facing the working class of this country. Think back six weeks ago when Trump was inaugurated for a second term as president, just six weeks ago. Standing right behind him were the three wealthiest men in this country, Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos, and Mr. Zuckerberg. And standing behind them were 13 other billionaires who Trump had nominated to head major government agencies. Many of these same billionaires, including Musk, were in the Capitol tonight listening to that speech.

In other words, it is there for all to see. The Trump administration is not hiding it. The Trump administration is a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class. Not withstanding some of their rhetoric, this is a government that could care less about ordinary Americans and the working families of our country.

My friends, we are no longer moving toward oligarchy, we are living in an oligarchic society.

The Real State of the Union

Now let’s take a moment and try to escape from Trump’s parallel universe, the universe that you heard tonight, and let’s do something really, really radical. Let’s actually take a hard look at the problems that Americans are facing.

Today, sixty percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Unlike Trump, I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck, and I know something about that reality. It means that every day, every day, millions of Americans worry about how they’re going to pay their rent, pay for childcare, pay for a doctor’s visit when they get sick. They worry about what happens when their car breaks down, and they can’t afford the thousand bucks it costs to get it fixed, and what happens when they can’t get to work because they don’t have a car. They worry about how they can afford to buy healthy food for their kids when the price of food is off the charts.

ALSO READ:  FULL TRANSCRIPT: Tucker Carlson Interviews Trump at MAGA event in Arizona

Funny, I heard Trump speaking for 90 minutes tonight. I didn’t hear one word from him about the economic reality facing sixty percent of our people, or the enormous stress that they are living under. Ninety-minute speech, not one word about the economic reality facing American workers.

Health Care Crisis Ignored

But that’s not all. Today in America, everyone knows that our health care system is broken. It is dysfunctional, and it is outrageously expensive. We remain the only wealthy nation on earth not to guarantee health care for all.

Mr. President, you really want to make America great again? Then make sure that every American, regardless of income, can go to a doctor or a hospital and not worry about how they’re going to pay the bills. President Trump, health care is a human right.

I didn’t hear one word from you, not one word, over 90-minute speech, not one word from you about the health care crisis that is impacting many, many millions of our people. Nor did I hear you say why we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, sometimes ten times more than the people in other countries, and why one out of four Americans are unable to afford the prescriptions their doctors prescribe. Not one word about the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs.

Housing and Inequality

Mr. President, we have nearly 800,000 Americans who are homeless. Over 20 million of our people spend more than half of their limited income on housing. We have a major housing crisis in America. Everyone knows it, apparently, except you, because in your speech tonight, I didn’t hear you mention the housing crisis.

Today in America, we have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had. Three richest people in America, the folks Trump invited to stand behind him at his inauguration, now own more wealth than the bottom half of our society, a hundred and seventy million Americans. Did anyone out there hear one word from the President of the United States on that enormously important issue, which gets to the very fabric of our society? So few owning so much, while so many people suffer.

And here’s something else the President forgot to discuss. Not only is our life expectancy four years lower than other wealthy countries, the bottom 50% in this country, the working class of America, on average live seven years shorter lives than the top 1%. Got that? In other words, being poor or working class in this country today is a death sentence. Did you hear any discussion tonight as to why so many of our people are living shorter lives than they should?

Climate Change and Tax Policies

During his speech tonight, Trump did not have one word to say about how we are going to address the planetary crisis of climate change. The last ten years, as most Americans know, have been the warmest ever recorded, and extreme weather disturbances and natural disasters have been taking place all over the world, from California to India, across Europe to North Carolina. And yet, not surprisingly, Trump had nothing to say about climate change except, I guess, drill, baby, drill. Well, that’s going to help a whole lot.

And let’s be clear, not only did Trump fail to talk about some of the most important issues facing the working class of America, but the solutions, in quote, he proposed would only make a bad situation even worse. Yep, I did hear Trump talk tonight about some tax breaks for working families in terms of not taxing tips, not taxing Social Security, and not taxing overtime. Fine. But that is Trump change compared to the benefits he’s going to give to the 1%, and it doesn’t tell the whole story about his tax policies.

According to a recent study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, if all of Trump’s so-called America First policies are enacted, including his tariffs, which he spoke a lot about tonight, the bottom 95% of Americans will see their taxes go up, while the richest 5% in our country will see their taxes go down, way down.

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Tonight, in so many words, Trump urged Congress to pass his big, beautiful budget. Do you know what’s really in it? This budget would cut Medicaid by 880 billion dollars. Oh, I guess Trump forgot to talk about that. 880 billion dollar cut in Medicaid. According to one estimate, it means that up to 36 million Americans, including millions of children, would be thrown off the health insurance they have. Hey, a 90-minute speech tonight, not one word about throwing millions of kids off of the health insurance they have. When you cut Medicaid drastically, it means that nursing homes that receive two-thirds of their funding from Medicaid will either have to shut down, lay off workers, or significantly scale back the services they provide seniors. Yeah, I didn’t hear that from Trump tonight either. It would be a devastating blow, these cuts to Medicaid, for the 32 million Americans who get their health care at community health centers.

And it’s not just Medicaid that Trump’s budget would cut. It would also cut nutrition assistance by at least 230 billion. I want you to think about that for a moment, and can you imagine? The billionaire class, people who can support their families, some of these guys have tens of billions of dollars, support their families for the next 10 generations, 50 generations. People who live in incredible opulence, people who own their own jet planes, they own their own private islands, they own their own spaceships, trying to get tax breaks by taking food out of the mouths of low-income kids. That truly is disgusting. What we are seeing is the Robert Hood principle in reverse, taking from the poor and giving to the rich and the very, very rich.

Federal Job Cuts and Foreign Policy

And here is something else Trump has been doing. For the past several weeks, he and his good friend Elon Musk, who was up there in the audience tonight, have been throwing hundreds of thousands of federal employees off their jobs. Now, I know some of you are saying, well that’s too bad, you know, but that’s the federal government. Not me, you know, it’s not me, it’s just those guys who work for the federal government. But I want you to think about this. Think about it for a moment. If Musk and his friends can arbitrarily throw federal workers out on the street today, what do you think that Musk and his fellow billionaires will be doing tomorrow when artificial intelligence and robotics explode in this country? Do you think they’ll give a damn about you and your families? No, they will treat you exactly the way they’re treating federal employees today. You will be out on the street as well.

But it’s not only absurd domestic policies that we’ve got to fight. For the first time in our 250 year history, we have a president who is turning his back on democracy and allying us with authoritarianism. No, we must not abandon the people of Ukraine who were invaded by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. We must always stand for democracy, not dictatorship.

Sanders’ Vision for America’s Future

Let me be very clear. Regardless of where Trump is taking this country, here’s what I think and what I believe the American people want us to do. They want us to end a corrupt campaign finance system. Well gee, golly gee, I didn’t hear Mr. Trump talk about that tonight. A corrupt campaign finance system which allows a handful of billionaires to buy elections. It is beyond crazy that someone like Elon Musk can contribute over 270 million dollars to help get Trump elected and then he gets to run the government. It is absurd that any member of Congress who stands up to Netanyahu’s brutal war in Gaza can expect to be opposed by millions of dollars in campaign contributions coming from AIPAC. The American people want us to end this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision and move to the public funding of elections. Democracy is supposed to be about one person, one vote, not billionaires buying the political candidates of their choice.

And further, no we should not be giving tax breaks to billionaires. That’s not what we should be doing. We must demand that the wealthiest people in this country start paying their fair share of taxes. We must raise the federal minimum wage of seven and a quarter an hour to a living wage of at least seventeen dollars an hour. We must make it easier for workers to join trade unions, grow the union movement, and prevent corporations from violating labor laws with impunity by passing the PRO Act, legislation that I will be introducing tomorrow.

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No, we are not going to cut Social Security. Quite the contrary. We must expand Social Security benefits and extend insolvency for the next 75 years by scrapping the cap that allows a billionaire to pay the same amount into Social Security as a truck driver. Too many, too many of our seniors are hurting today for us to be talking about cutting Social Security. Over 20% seniors in this country living on $15,000 a year or less.

Further, instead of making massive cuts to Medicaid, we must join every other major country in guaranteeing health care to all of our people through a Medicare for All single-payer program. We must also take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry. Get them to charge us what they charge other countries, reducing prescription drug prices by 50%.

And at a time of a terrible housing crisis in Vermont and in every area of our country, we must build at least 4 million units of low-income and affordable housing, stop corporate landlords from jacking up rent prices, and establish a cap on rent. In a competitive global economy, we need the best educated workforce in the world. All of our young people must have the ability to get a higher education by making public colleges, trade schools, and universities tuition-free and canceling student debt.

Yes, we can create millions of good-paying jobs by combating climate change and moving our energy system away from fossil fuels and into sustainable energy. You know, I heard a lot of talk about freedom tonight from Mr. Trump. Well, in a free society, we must absolutely guarantee that it is the women of America who control their own bodies, not the local, state, or federal governments.

A Call to Action

Now I know, because I’ve heard from many of you, that there are a lot of people out there who are feeling angry and frustrated at what’s going on here in Washington, DC. And some of you may feel a bit hopeless. So let me say this, at this particular moment in history, despair is not an option. Giving up is not acceptable. And none of us have the privilege of hiding under the covers. The stakes are just too high.

Let us never forget, real change only occurs when ordinary people stand up by the millions against oppression and injustice and fight back. That is the history of the founding of our nation, when brave men and women took on the mighty, invincible British Empire. It is the history of the abolitionist movement, the history of the labor movement, the history of the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the environmental movement, and the gay rights movement.

Yes, I know, the oligarchs are enormously powerful. I deal with them every day. I know that. Yes, they have endless amounts of money. Yes, they control our economy and they own much of the media. They have enormous influence over our political system. But from the bottom of my heart, I am convinced that they can be beaten. If we stand together and not let them divide us up by the color of our skin, or where we were born, or our religion, or the language we speak, or our sexual orientation, if we bring our people together around an agenda that works for the many and not just the few, there is nothing in the world that can stop us. We can win. We will win. Let us go forward together. Thank you all very much.

Trudeau's message in response to Trump's tariffs

 Trudeau: So today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they're talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator.

Make that make sense.

Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response.

Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days' time.

Today we will also be challenging these illegal actions by filing dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the USMCA.

But in the meantime, our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner. And should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war.

Now, just like I did a month ago, I want to speak first directly to the American people.

We don't want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don't want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country.

Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both. They've chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between.

They've chosen to harm American national security, impeding access to

 access to the abundant critical minerals, energy, building materials and fertilizers that we have and that the United States needs to grow and prosper.

They've chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families.

They've chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States. And they've chosen to undermine the incredible work we've done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the earth.

So on that point, let me be crystal clear: there is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today. Now, the legal pretext your government is using to bring in these tariffs is that Canada is apparently unwilling to help in the fight against illegal fentanyl.

Well, that is totally false.

Let's look at the fact our border is already safe and secure. Far less than one per cent of fentanyl flows and less than one per cent of illegal crossings into the United States comes from Canada. But we acted, because we know we can always do better.

We responded to concerns, including from the president, by implementing an ambitious $1.3-billion border plan, a border plan that includes generational investments in new AI and imaging tools to stop the flow of fentanyl in its tracks, stronger co-ordination and information sharing with American agencies, along with the deployment of drones, helicopters and additional personnel to keep our border secure.

You know, a month ago, as part of an agreement with the United States that paused the tariffs, we made further commitments. We appointed Kevin Brosseau as our fentanyl czar, a man who dedicated his multi-decade career in law enforcement to combating organized crime networks and drug trafficking.

We designated seven drug cartels — sick, evil groups who cynically profit off the pain and suffering of people on both sides of the border — as the terrorist organizations that they are.

And just yesterday, we launched a new joint operations partnership, supported by a $200-million investment between Canada's security and law enforcement agencies, a partnership that will enhance the co-ordination of information and intelligence in order to thwart criminal gangs involved in the illegal fentanyl trade.

And critically, our actions are working as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection just acknowledged there was a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizure from January compared to December, to a near-zero low of less than half an ounce seized in January.

Now, I want to speak directly to one specific American.

Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we've done big things.

We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We've done big things together on the world stage, as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations. And now, we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.

Now, it's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.

We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.

And now, to my fellow Canadians. I won't sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough, even though we're all going to pull together because that's what we do.

We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm. From expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to businesses. We will be there as needed to help.

But Canada, make no mistake. No matter how long this lasts, no matter what the cost, the federal government and other orders of government will be there for you.

We will defend Canadian jobs. We will take measures to prevent predatory behaviour that threatens Canadian companies because of the impacts of this trade war, leaving them open to takeovers. We will relentlessly fight to protect our economy. We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day. Because this country is worth fighting for.

You know we've been through tough spots before, but every time we've faced long odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we've not only survived, we've emerged stronger than ever.

Because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all aren't willing to pay.

And today is no different. Thank you.

recipe for finding life on other planets

 Cbcradio/quirksandquarks/March 1,2025

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/mar-1-the-recipe-for-finding-life-on-other-planets-and-more-1.7470424

The recipe for finding life on other planets

Quirks and Quarks17:41

In the last two decades we've discovered literally thousands of planets orbiting nearby stars. Our technology has now advanced to the point where we can investigate whether there's life on those planets. We speak to astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger, the founder of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute, about her work trying to answer that question, and her book Alien Earths: Planet Hunting in the Cosmos.

A book cover showing a blue and orange space photo in the background behind the title.

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger. (St. Martin's Press)